A Glimmer of Hope
by The Hidden Sith
Summary: It's been five years since disclosure and the City of Atlantis breathes new life with thousands inhabiting her. When a subspace anomaly propels the city and her stalwart defenders through time and space, they discover a galaxy in turmoil and humanity in peril once again. With no way back, they must establish a new home for humanity and uncover the mystery behind Andromeda. SG/ME
1. Prologue: Charon

Many thanks to Spartan303 and Ash's Boomstick. I don't own or am affiliated with, Mass Effect, Stargate, or their parent companies.

 **A Glimmer of Hope**

 **Prologue**

Charon

 **UNKNOWN / ERROR TIME LOG CORRUPTED BY TEMPORAL ANOMALY /**

The Intelligence had travelled for fifty million years, crossing innumerable galaxies and cataloguing tens of trillions of stars, worlds and lifeforms. Knowledge from the vanguard forces flowed through its circuitry, filling the immense databanks, allowing great archives of the universe to be crafted. The Ouroboros Call, the great intelligence on the edge of the Universe's genesis, at the advent of existence, still sang. Something had gone wrong however, as its new crew slept in the pods of preservation, the ship had been thrown across time and space to a galaxy near its origin.

The humans called it Andromeda.

Reaching out with esoteric sensors, it probed the abyss. There were no signals within three hundred light years, no signs of civilization. Determined to maintain the existence of the crew, it slipped into a far off star, slowly orbiting it and occasionally dipping into its fiery pits to fuel itself. From there, signals were sent, only detectable by the Creator to find the ship. With the mission over now, the duty of the Intelligence was now to ensure the survival of its crew.

 **JOINT BASE ATLANTIS / MAY 7TH 2017 / NEW LANTEA STAR SYSTEM / PEGASUS**

Atlantis.

The truly ancient Alteran city stretched out before her eyes; towering peaks and buildings jutting out from an azure pearlescent sea, it had travelled across galaxies and been involved in numerous climatic battles that had decided the fates of entire species. The Wraith, Replicators, Goa'uld, and Lucian Alliance had been felled by her guns and by her stalwart defenders over the course of millennia. Now, in the wake of disclosure, the city had been new life breathed into her. Twenty five thousand souls—men, women, and even children, now called this bastion of humanity home. In the wake of the Stargate's disclosure to the entire world five years prior, the United Nations Security Council had seen fit to claim the jewel of Pegasus as mankind's first extra galactic center of civilization.

With the Wraith embroiled in a brutal civil war and rapidly driving themselves to near-extinction, Atlantis now served as the headquarters for the Security Council's First Extragalactic Force under the command of Major General Samantha Carter and Brigadier General John Sheppard. Ten thousand troops and two Security Council ships protected Atlantis, defending her and her charges from the darkness that lurked out at the fringes on known space. At the moment, the Air Force and Navy Battlecruisers _Pioneer_ and _Alan Shepard_ where deployed and for the next six months would augment Atlantis' own air wing of F-302s, Jumpers, and extensive defensive systems. The previous overwatch had been fulfilled by the Russian _Kiev_ Deep Space Cruiser alongside the British Cruiser _Royal Sovereign_.

Major General Samantha Carter felt the ocean breeze touch her face, the calls of gulls and of Atlantis' resident pigeon population left over from its brief stay in San Francisco, mixing and matching with the sounds of the ocean. The city seemed to gleam with light and life, occasionally marred by the mismatched form of railgun or SAM battery installations. Several small shops and restaurants had opened up on the piers, catering to both the military and research personnel and to that of the colonists that had been hand selected to join the Atlantis Expedition. For the first time in thousands of years, it was truly a City once again. A fortress garden some had called it. Plans were calling for the population to eventually exceed a million, but with current military operations in the Milky Way, in addition to uplifting operations on Earth, it would have to wait.

She had taken over permanent command in 2012 shortly after disclosure, handing over the reins of the _Hammond_ to the venerable Colonel Pat Meyers. From there, the Security Council and Homeworld Command had decided to send her back here to oversee continuing operations against the Wraith. With the second awakening, it had become imperative that Atlantis have not only an accomplished military officer as commander, but a brilliant scientist, and someone who could lead an international crew of thirty five thousand individuals, including both military and civilians. Doctor Jackson had been the initial prospect for the position, but he had taken the opportunity to be Security Council's ambassador to the League of Free Worlds, an alliance of thousands of former Goa'uld worlds clamoring for help in the wake of the Lucian Alliance's destruction.

"Still can't get enough of that sight, can ya?" Brigadier General John Sheppard asked, coming up behind her.

"You know it," Sam responded with a smile. "Even after five years, it's something that you can't take your eyes away from."

"I'd agree with that. I've been here almost fourteen and I still can't believe it. Must be something to do with being in a different galaxy that the human mind can't comprehend." John stood next to her, looking out. "Have you tried that new Japanese place on Pier One?"

"The one with the Goa'uld on the front?"

John nodded, "Yeah that one."

"I haven't. Any good?" Sam asked. She knew which one he was talking about. It had been opened by the family of a Japanese Air Self Defense Force Major that had been assigned here.

"Really good," John stated firmly. "They've started using some of the local fish and they're amazing."

"Didn't know you were one for sushi," Sam looked at him. "I always pegged you as a steak and whiskey person."

"Both." He shrugged, "I just like food."

"Evan said the same thing," she laughed.

"Generals, you're needed in the control room immediately."

Sam tapped her earpiece, "What's going on, Chuck?"

 _"_ _Massive subspace anomaly just appeared on sensors. ETA until contact is five minutes."_

"Raise the shield and set condition one," Sam said.

"Another one of these things?" John asked. For the last week, they had been detecting subspace anomalies across the galaxy. Scouting teams had found nothing of interest or value. Most thought it to be another Lantean device that had gotten turned on somehow.

"Appears so. Chair, John."

"On it." The other Air Force general quickly left the balcony and made a bee line for the chair room.

Sam rounded the corner to the control room and felt something hit her. Her breath was forced out of her lungs and a crushing sensation, as if she were pulling double gravities, slammed into her. Blackness consumed the General as she slipped into unconsciousness.

In a blinding flash of light, Samantha Carter's vision returned to her. She was sprawled across the deck of Atlantis' control room, her head throbbing in pain and a warm trickle of something crossing her face. She smelled blood and, after bringing her hand to press against her forehead, a quick examination of her palm showed the source. With a grunt, she pushed herself up off the ground and against one of the numerous consoles scattered around the room. Glancing in one of the windows, she saw her reflection and the nasty cut above her forehead.

Several other personnel were strewn around the control room. Sergeant Hoyt had his head buried in one of the consoles, sparks occasionally flickering over his prone body. She didn't need a diagnosis from Doctors Lam or Keller to determine the young man's condition. Sergeant Chuck Campbell was draped over his own station, eyes closed and a trickle of blood coming from a cut on his forehead caused by broken control crystal, but the rise and fall of his chest indicated he was still alive. Others were starting to come to, slowing picking themselves up off the ground and back to their stations. Training was taking over, as was the familiar sensation of adrenaline.

"Report!" Sam called out, wincing in pain. She felt at least one broken rib.

The familiar voice of Doctor Rodney McKay cut through the silence and chaos. "Wide spread power outages across the city. Long range sensors are down as are shields."

"What happened, McKay?"

"The subspace wave that we thought would harmlessly pass through us? It ended up semi-reverting into normal space and hit us hard. The entire solar system is showing signs of being transitioned through hyperspace, probably with similar effects." Rodney slumped in his chair, wincing in pain as he did so. "We got hit the worst."

"The _Pioneer_ and _Alan Shepard_?" Sam asked. The orbiting Daedalus Battlecruisers had arrived to provide real-time support for the Expedition after the Russians and Brits had left a few days prior.

"They're still in orbit. I think?" Rodney said, "I won't know until we can get our main sensors back online."

"Are our comms still online?"

Rodney looked down at his computer, "Ya. Short range but they should be able to reach the _Pioneer_."

Sam tapped her earpiece, " _Pioneer_ Actual, Atlantis Actual do you read?"

There was a brief burst of static before Colonel Kevin Marks's voice came back through. _"Atlantis Actual, Pioneer Actual. We're still here. Couple bumps and bruises but none the worst. What's the situation down there?"_

"We need every medic and doctor you have," Sam said. The doors to the control room hissed open, Combat Medics and nurses flowing through to tend to the command staff. With forty five thousand people on the city, casualties were likely to be numerous. "We have a lot of people that are hurt."

 _"_ _Copy that, General. I'll beam them down within the next five minutes. Captain Royer is getting his ship back online and he'll assist when able. What is your defensive situation?"_

"Shields down, weapons down, long-range sensors, down," Rodney interrupted. "It's a small miracle that ZPM containment didn't go critical and vaporize the city."

Sam nodded at the words from the brash Canadian scientist. "Colonel, I need you to launch alert fighters and start a CAP. This might be a pre-emptive strike against us by the Wraith and we're not in the best defensive shape at the moment."

 _"_ _Copy that, General."_

"Thank you." Sam glanced at her watch as two Marines brought a stretcher forth for her. "Check back in at 1800 hours, city time."


	2. Chapter 1: Just Another Day

**Chapter One**

Just Another Day…

 **JOINT BASE ATLANTIS / MAY 13th 2017 / NEW LANTEA STAR SYSTEM / ANDROMEDA**

The conference room of Atlantis had hosted dignitaries from thousands of solar systems and almost a dozen different species; from Tok'ra to Wraith to Lanteans to humans. The seats had been occupied by Generals and Colonels planning wars, to trade representatives haggling over the price of beans and rice. Now, however, it felt as if the room was about to collapse under its own legacy. The lights were bright and the reflective surface of the table was almost blinding at certain angles. With the light coming in from the tall stained glass doors, it gave the entirety of the room an almost uncomfortable ethereal feel that transported one away from reality. Major General Samantha Carter rubbed her brow in small circles with her index and pointer finger, trying to relieve the headache that was rapidly growing.

She surveyed the room. Arrayed at the tables were Colonel Kevin Marks of the _Pioneer_ , Captain Ben Royer of the _Alan Shepard_ , Colonel Evan Lorne and Brigadier General John Sheppard, Doctor Rodney McKay, Director Richard Woolsey, and Doctors Jennifer Keller and Carolyn Lam. All had visible heavy bags underneath their eyes but were nonetheless alert and ready. Colonel Marks had a steaming cup of black coffee slowly steaming in front of him. Humorously enough, it was held in a plain white mug with a large, black Starfleet symbol emblazoned.

"Alright," Sam started. "Now that everyone's here, let's begin."

"Sounds good," John commented. "Never been one for just hanging out."

"Oh, please," Rodney said.

"McKay," Sam said with a sideways glance.

"Sorry."

"I know tensions are high and everyone is a little bit restless, but let's try to be civil." Sam glanced down at her dossier. "Now, to recap what has happened. One week ago, on Sunday May 7th 2017 at 12:00 city standard time, the entirety of the New Lantea Star System was struck by a semi-transitioned subspace energy wave. This caused the star system to be propelled approximately six million light years away and eight hundred years into the future. We currently reside in a small, three thousand light year cluster of the Andromeda Galaxy. During this anomaly, the city experienced heavy damage to long range sensors and defensive systems along with the loss of five people. However, with help from the Pioneer's engineering and damage control teams, we've managed to get the city back in operation and are ready to begin exploratory operations to determine what our status is here. Colonel Marks?"

Colonel Kevin Marks nodded, "Thank you, Sir." His blue eyes darted across the room. "Since the Event, as it's being called by my crew, the Pioneer has been making local scans of the surrounding star systems. Tentatively, we've identified these as Echo-One through Seven. All of these systems are completely uninhabitable but rich in natural resources such as titanium, naquadah, and trinium. We've dropped several Class Five surveillance probes to set up an impromptu WATCHTOWER early warning system until Atlantis manages to get her long range sensors back online. Once that is done, and myself and General Carter have determined that the base is capable of defending itself against any aggressor, we will begin an accelerated pace of exploration to determine our current stance and begin to identify potential threats and opportunities. The first threat that we've identified is something that we're calling the Scourge at the moment due to its pathogen like structure. Doctor McKay?"

"Alright." Rodney looked up from his computer. "We've identified a unique phenomena of dark energy. While it seems attracted to naquadah and neutronium based technology it moves towards those materials very slowly. Each 'strand' of it can range from a few meters to thousands of kilometers with each centimeter home to dozens, if not hundreds, of microscopic subspace and gravitational anomalies that will grab onto a ship and rip it apart. The probe launched from the Pioneer was completely ripped apart in less than five seconds, heavy electrical charges frying it as soon as it came within a meter of contact."

"John, Evan, I want you to have our Jumper and Warlock patrols to stay at least a thousand kilometers away from these strands." Sam looked at the two men, "I don't want to lose people this early on. Continue, Rodney."

"Right," he looked down quick and then back up to the group. "The _Pioneer_ managed to identify an artificial structure within Cluster thirty-three-Sierra, located in a system we are also calling Echo-Five. This vessel was approximately fifteen meters in length and marked in English lettering identifying it as a UT-47 Kodiak Dropship. Three crew members were identified, a human and two different unknown species. Jennifer? Carolyn?"

Jennifer Keller, Rodney's fiancée, smiled warmly. "The first non-human body we identified belonged to a species we've designated as X-ray-Three-Two. They're a bipedal, avian species that have a dextro-amino acid genetic base. An interesting point is that there is an external carapace that is made of some sort of bio-metal that is surprisingly similar to what we've seen in Wraith. Doctor Lam surveyed the autopsy of the third individual and other non-human."

Doctor Carolyn Lam leaned back in her chair, the ergonomic back flexing to accommodate her. "The second one, tagged as X-ray-Three-Three, is a bipedal amphibian with a long, elongated body with what we believe is an absolutely ridiculous metabolism. We believe that due to the lack of eggs that this individual was a male, that is if they present as sexually dimorphism, like we saw with Three-Two."

"At the moment, we do not know what these two species have in terms of relations with humanity, but based off the technology found in the Kodiak dropship, which was similar in size and role to our Darters and Jumpers, we do not believe that we are dealing with a naquadah-based technological civilization, much less one from our own galaxy." Sam paused. "Our current mission, now, is to identify what local powers exist within this galaxy and begin analysis regarding their capabilities and prospects. I'd like to make friends, but considering what we found in Pegasus when we arrived and in the Milky Way twenty years ago, I know that those chances are remote."

"Currently," John said. He leaned forward on his forearms, hands clasped together, "The city is back to full operational capabilities. Shield generators are repaired and humming, point defenses are back online, our 302C's are fully manned and operational, and the Asgard beams we have are ready to pop anything that might come poke their nose into our business. I'm confident that if we have a hostile come visit, we can take care of ourselves until the Pioneer can swing by and hit them hard."

"With that said," Sam stated, smoothly transitioning from General Sheppard's message. "Kevin, you're formally cleared to begin operational exploration to asses local strengths, weaknesses, threats, and opportunities. I want every system within fifty light years mapped and a WATCHTOWER set up. We have long range sensors online again, but with this Scourge, we need more than one viewpoint to identify anything beyond a sun. We have almost forty thousand people in this city, I'd rather not jeopardize their lives so be careful. With that being said, Royer, the _Alan Shepard_ is going to be staying in orbit for the time being. Anything else?"

Kevin nodded, "Yes, Ma'am. What are our rules of engagement? The _Pioneer_ was equipped with a cloak before we left Luna Joint Base Armstrong, but if we have to, what are our boundaries? I'd rather not just sit there and get shot at by whatever this galaxy has to offer."

Sam paused and considered her options before her. "You're free to engage, Colonel. Same to you, Captain Royer. If you believe that an entity is a determined threat to the safety and or security of this base, your ship, or our personnel, you have full authorization to use whatever force necessary to neutralize or destroy it. Just don't blow up a sun. That's a bit much."

"You would know…" Rodney smirked.

Sam ignored him. "However, I'm having Director Woolsey head out with you should we make first contact. Richard?"

"I'll gladly be joining you, Marks. If we can make friends, that's great, but I don't have my hopes up given other galaxies' track record." The accomplished diplomat leaned back in his seat, "It'll be nice to take my mind off everything here. While everyone has been relatively well-behaved as we're all dedicated professionals handpicked for this, it'll be a definite help when we start getting back into some kind of a routine."

"Agreed. Teal'c told me something when I took command of Atlantis the first time. Draw from the past, but do not let your past draw from you. Dismissed."

The command staff slowly exited the room, leaving only Colonel Marks and Sam.

"How'd it go?" Sam asked, standing from her seat.

"Well, as usual." Kevin brought the cup to his lips and took a sip. "Thank god you guys managed to get a coffee bean grow operation up and running or you'd have a mutiny on your hand. I'd have to replicate it in the Asgard core otherwise but that breaks about a thousand regulations."

"It's not like we don't have several metric tonnes of tea and coffee." Sam laughed. "Just wait until we run out of the good booze and chocolate."

"Especially the booze," Kevin commented. "Radek's stuff is decent but it could burn the warts off a hog. Good thing the Pendergast's last delivery was pretty much all of the above."

She winced, "Yeah, not a fan."

"Pioneer is finishing up some diagnostics and some recalibration of our hyperdrive that should take about an hour. After we're done with that, we'll grab our CAP and head out. The first system I have in mind is designated Foxtrot-One. We picked up some possible radio signals coming from there so a quick snoop won't hurt anyone." Kevin took another sip. "Mmmm."

"Don't remind me that I haven't had my morning cup of joe." Sam gestured to him to follow here. "Let's get some fresh air."

"And who's the Star Trek nerd here, Captain Janeway?" Kevin frowned, "It can't be the guy drinking from a Starfleet mug, can it, Ma'am?"

Sam smiled and gave a small shrug. "I don't know. I always liked Deep Space Nine." They left the conference room and entered the balcony overlooking the ocean of New Lantea. A fresh breeze washed over them as they stepped through, bringing forth the plethora of smells and scents that dominated.

"Well," Kevin said. "You do have a bit of Kira Nerys in you."

"Sheppard is definitely Kirk. Lorne is more like Malcom Reed than anybody," Sam said. She smiled, "I've always loved the sea. I would have gone Navy if my dad hadn't pressured me into the Air Force."

"It does have its charm," Kevin said. "I was raised in San Diego. My dad was the Captain of the USS Long Beach and then Destroyer Squadron 50. We travelled a lot, but we were always in some of the most beautiful areas of the world. Europe, Asia, Australia…simply breathtaking scenery. Good food too."

"You were a Navy brat?" Sam let out a laugh, "If only your dad could see you now!"

"He already hears scuttlebutt from some of his friends that are still in the service. When you retire as a Vice Admiral, you never really leave the service. He has a vague idea that I'm in space on a ship called Pioneer. Won't press me for details. Probably doesn't have to, to be honest. Lord knows how he and Admiral Reynolds talk."

"Oh, I know what you're talking about. The same goes to Air Force brass as well," Sam said. "My dad was still being told all sorts of classified stuff or being given 'hints' about it when he retired."

"They would both be freaking out if they found out that the Joint Space Command is operating almost thirty interstellar warships." Kevin smirked, "hell, he'd probably get back in. Fight until he could be on the bridge again."

"Sounds like our two dads would have gotten along," Sam said.

"They'd be inseparable. Two of the same kind, although my dad is a bit of a nerd when it comes to science fiction. Kinda wore off. By the sound of it, your dad was a bit more of a fantasy man."

"Lord of the Rings. He couldn't live without it. He hated Star Trek and Star Wars." Sam smiled, "Ironic."

"Agreed. Well, ma'am, my coffee is gone and my ship needs her CO. Permission to disembark?"

"Permission granted, Kevin. See you starside."

He saluted with his free hand before tapping his earpiece. "See you starside. Pioneer, one to beam up."

Kevin was enveloped in a flash of shimmering white light with the accompanying musical tone before he vanished in a blur of vertical motion.

Sam returned her gaze out to Atlantis and the waves splashing against its piers. This was home now. For good and bad.

 **U.S.S. Pioneer / MAY 13th 2017 / ORBITING NEW LANTEA**

The halls of the _Pionee_ r were like that of other _Daedalus_ -class Battlecruisers. Nondescript and utilitarian, they nonetheless seemed to vary very subtly between ships. A blue tinge was shared between that of the Apollo and Pioneer, strong florescent lights casting intricate shadows from the equipment installed on walls and in the hallways. From the _Prometheus_ to the _William McCool_ , the ships of Earth had served as the stalwart defenders of mankind. The _Pioneer_ was no different, simply assigned to a different area.

Colonel Kevin Marks entered the bridge of his command with minimal fanfare, the doors hissing open and revealing the bridge of the Flight II Battlecruiser. Largely the same as the Daedalus and her sister ships, it nonetheless better distributed the workflow, had a large holotank at the aft section replacing the original tac-plot, and was buried at the heart of the vessel. The large bridge windows were actually displays, fed by thousands of real-time high definition sensors on the exterior.

"Commander on Deck!" Lieutenant Colonel Jennifer Hailey called out. The ten men and women on the bridge stood straight.

"At ease," Kevin said. "What's our status?"

Lieutenant Colonel Hailey looked up from her computer screen. Her command chair was situated next to his own, flanked by sensors and helm at either side. The rest of the stations were arrayed in dual blocks across the bridge. "Diagnostic completed, all systems report ready. We're maintaining a steady orbit at an inclination of fifteen degrees off-planet."

"Understood," Kevin said as he took his place at the command station. Pulling up the arm-mounted display, he linked into the main system control. "General Carter has cleared us for operations. Our first destination is Foxtrot-One. Helm, begin charge of hyperspace engines and standby for jump. Comms, send our flight path to the _Shepard_."

Captain Carson Del Rio didn't even turn to acknowledge the order, simply nodding and quickly going to work. A soft hum emanated from the ship as the neutrino-ion and naquadah reactors began to divert energy into the Asgard-based hyperdrive. "Hyperdrive charge underway, jump ready to commence at your order, Sir."

"Alright then." Kevin said, "Anything else from long range scanners?"

"Negative," Hailey responded. "We're identified some errant radio signals but that's it so far. Best we can tell is that there is, or was, some sort of artificial structure in orbit of the gas giant."

Kevin keyed the display, bringing up the long-range scans of Foxtrot One. It was a moderately sized star system, with four planets and one moon. Most of them were gas giants or small, rocky worlds with minimal potential for life. The only point of interest was that spectral analysis determined there to be significant deposits of naquadah and quasi-neutronium in the outer planetary rings and asteroid belt.

"If we're stuck here for good," Kevin said. "Then we're going to need all the naquadah and neutronium we can get."

"Agreed, Sir." Hailey stated. "At five light years out it should be a relatively short hop, even with accounting for the Scourge and its navigational difficulties."

"Alright then. Helm, commence jump."

"Yes, Colonel. Commencing jump to Foxtrot-One." Captain Del Rio grabbed the controls for the six hundred meter long Battlecruiser and pressed it forward. Ion-Gravimetric engines flared and pulled the Pioneer from orbit, rocketing away from the shrinking blue world. Once free from orbit, he pressed the hyperspace activation switch. A shimmering purple and silver smear appeared a few kilometers off the bow of the vessel. Accelerating forward in a blur of motion, the Battlecruiser vanished into the rift.

A bare few seconds passed before the hyperspace tunnel; a continual passing of distorted stars and stellar bodies, dissipated in a flash of white light. Discharging into real space, the Pioneer screamed out.

"Jump complete. We're at the fifth Lagrangian point in the star system, bearing two one three."

"Adjust to solar equator," Hailey ordered.

"Yes, Ma'am," Del Rio answered.

"Anything on sensors?" Kevin asked. He stood, walking away from his chair and to the expansive monitors at the fore. The system was under the charge of a pale blue sun, flickering softly and likely for trillions of more years. Small pockets of the Scourge could be noted even from here, gray smears with specks of gold electricity and stellar phenomena.

"Contact. Orbit of Foxtrot-One-Five," Lieutenant Josh Tally said. "Unknown design. Hull is composed of titanium, trinium, and an unknown alloy. Power generation is approximately twenty five percent that of an Alpha-Sierra class Ha'tak."

"On screen," Jennifer ordered.

The main monitor snapped from the bow camera to a composite image formed from scans. The vessel was a harsh, mottled green. Insectoid like antennae protruded across from the hull, with six circular bow lights giving it a distinct quasi-beetle appearance. Six cannons were studded on either sides of the main hull, with smaller ones in various locations across the hull in strategic positions.

"Size?" Kevin looked back.

"One thousand, seven hundred meters in length. Armament consists of multiple high-powered mass drivers and several missile silos. Unknown shielding. Propulsion is primarily a fusion-torch design, but with the energy readings that we're getting, I wouldn't put too much on it catching up to us." Josh looked up from his monitor, "I don't think they have FTL sensors. They haven't made any motion to respond to us jumping in but I'm detecting at least five thousand life forms."

"Can we get a detailed scan of their biology?" Hailey asked.

"Not at this range, Ma'am," he responded. "We'll have to get within ten thousand kilometers before we can."

"How long until they detect us?" Kevin knew a warship when he saw one. Even though the unknown contact likely couldn't harm them based off initial scans, it was always good to be certain.

"Ten minutes," Josh said.

"Alright. Lieutenant Albers, cloak the ship." Kevin looked to the young woman at defensive operations control to his right. "We're going to go right under their nose."

"Yes, Sir. Cloaking ship now."

"Helm, go to full military thrust and put us ten thousand kilometers out from the unknown. Update threat board with target designation Sierra-One." Kevin turned and moved back to his seat.

"Yes, Colonel." Del Rio pushed the throttle and angled the ship towards its destination. "Eta ten minutes."

"Nice and easy," Kevin added. "Anything else on sensors?"

"Besides quite a bit of cosmic debris? No, Sir." Josh's expression soured. "Correction, there's two Kodiak type shuttles rapidly accelerating from Foxtrot-One-Five. Sierra-One is moving toward them. Detecting multiple smaller vessels launching from it and angling towards the two shuttles. There is weapons fire. Small caliber mass accelerators."

"On screen," Jennifer said.

The main display snapped away from the image of Sierra-One to that of multiple fighters chasing after the two shuttles. Thin trails of railgun fire were streaking away from the attacking T-shaped craft. Six of them in total, they were arrayed in a flat line and failing to hit the two fleeing Kodiaks.

"Life signs?" Kevin kept his eyes on the scene playing out before him. The last thing he wanted to do was get involved in someone else's war, especially with only Atlantis and two Daedalus available. "Threat board, designate unknown fighters as Sierra two through eight."

"Shuttle one has five life forms and shuttle two has three." Josh paused, "ETA two minutes until we're in range for bio scan."

"Receiving a distress signal," Communications Officer Lieutenant Margaret Johnson called out a few seconds later.

"Let's hear it," Kevin directed.

"One second, Colonel. I have to convert it to be compatible with our system." With a frown, she glanced back. "It's in English and two other languages I can't identify. Putting it on now."

The bridge speakers popped and crackled as it played the message. A distinctly human male voice came through, laced with panic and fear. "This is the Initiative ship Dancer, we are in need of immediate assistance. We're under attack by a Kett warship. FTL drives are offline."

"They're…human." Jennifer looked at Kevin, shock visible on her face.

"Sierra-One is firing main weapons at the shuttles."

Kevin clenched his jaw. "Raise shields and ready main weapon systems. Helm, put us between the two shuttles and the pursuing fighters. DefOp, drop the cloak. Time to introduce ourselves."

"Yes, Sir."

The _Pioneer_ angled itself in space, cloak vanishing and presenting its pale gray form to the enemy craft. Surging forward, the Battlecruiser inserted itself between the Kodiak shuttles and the Kett Heavy Cruiser. Streaks of glimmering mass accelerator rounds slammed into the Battlecruiser's shielding, impacting like a bug on a windshield to minimal effect.

"Shields holding," Hailey said.

"Open a comm channel, translate it into every language we have in our system," Kevin ordered. "Helm, keep us between the shuttles and that warship."

"You're on, Sir."

Kevin held his head up, "This is Colonel Kevin Marks of the United States Air Force Battlecruiser _Pioneer_. These shuttles are under our protection. Withdraw your attack now. Any attempt to fire on this vessel will be matched with force."

"They're firing again. Reading forty fighters launching."

"Sound general quarters. Fire at will."

The Kett fighters accelerated towards the Pioneer, lines of mass accelerator cannons screaming down and slamming into the shields. Pivoting almost effortlessly, the Earth ship's thirty-two M630 CIWS railguns came into play. Depleted uranium-tungsten rounds screamed out at dozens of kilometers a second, slamming into the pale green fighters and ripping them apart with Asgard sensor-guided lethality. The few Kett fighters that had avoided the massive amount of fire being directed down range were quickly engaged by the ten RIM-117S missile launchers located across the ship. Thirty pound explosive warheads slammed into the attackers, coring through and sending them into tailspins. Splattering against the shields like bugs on a window, the fighter swarm was quickly diminished to ineffectuality.

"Enemy fighters neutralized," Hailey reported. "Minimal damage."

"Reorientate us to bring our bow to bear on Sierra-One. Helm, ready APB battery one. Fire on my mark." Kevin kept his eyes immersed in the data read outs, analyzing performance statistics and a thousand other strands of data.

"Yes, Sir."

Pioneer swung her large bow to bear on Sierra-One. At ten thousand kilometers distant, it was a speck that was barely visible. White lines of fire slammed into the shields of Pioneer, shields flaring and shrugging off the damage as if they were micrometeorites.

"Fire main APB battery, target their engines." Kevin studied the enemy ship. The six engines on the back were tapered from the rest of the vessel. If they were destroyed by plasma beam fire, it might just force the enemy vessel to disengage.

"Firing now."

Twin needle-thin beams of burning azure streaked out from the nose of Pioneer, crossing the distance between the two vessels in the flash of an eye. Making contact with the aft quarter, the beams simply overloaded any shielding in their way and cored into the hull. Armor plating rippled and boiled as it was deconstructed and melted at the molecular level. The plasma beams passed clean through, having severed the engines from the rest of the enemy ship. Even with their legs swept out from under them, the enemy ship continued to fire.

"Persistent," Kevin commented. "Comms, open a channel."

"You're on."

"Unidentified vessel. Abandon ship, I intend to destroy you. Again, abandon ship, I intend to destroy you. This is your only warning." Kevin looked back at Josh, still hearing the rhythmic pounding against the hull of Pioneer, "any sign of escape pods?"

"Negative, Sir. They're still firing."

"Alright, let's get this over with. Weapons free. Fire at will." Kevin switched to the external view, watching as the six beam emitters on Pioneer fired, sending rounds down range and slicing clean through the enemy vessel as if it were flash paper held to a blow torch. The vessel split in half and the aft quarter, where the reactor had likely been stored, illuminated into a miniature sun.

"Threat board clear," Jennifer said. "Enemy forces neutralized."

There was a somber silence on the bridge. Three thousand lives had just been winked out from existence. All that was left were the scattered remains of the ship, most no larger than a baseball. The bow section of the ship, just over six hundred meters in size, was scarred by weapons fire from either plasma beams or the Pioneer's five inch railgun batteries. Smoke and debris trailed the tumbling derelict, casting intricate shapes throughout space.

"Get our new friends on the horn," Kevin said. "Let's see who we just saved."

 **NEXUS / MAY 13th 2820 / ZHENG HE SYSTEM**

Chief of Security Tiran Kandros stared out at the long, six kilometer portion of the Nexus' bottom arm. Lights blinked Kevineath a blanket of atmospheric gases and solar debris from the gas giant that the massive space station skimmed. In the six months since the end of the Archon conflict, the Nexus had come alive with activity as both Angaran and Initiative had made the station home. Many areas were still untouched, serving as storage until the population grew large enough to need them. With Prodromos, Meridian, and Elaaden thriving, that would happen sooner rather than later. It was quite a sight; Turians, Salarians, Krogan, Humans, and Asari working in close tandem and harmony. All for the greater good.

He sighed and allowed his eyes to drift off to the very end of the arm. Covered in lattice work and scaffolding was the sleek, predatory form of the ASV Jien Garson, the first domestically-built vessel by the Initiative. Designed almost exclusively off the blueprints of the SR-2 Normandy, the stealth heavy frigate was a few days away from formal launch. Armed to the teeth with the latest Thanix cannons, mass accelerators, torpedoes, and powerful shields and armor, she'd be able to match the Kett in space and serve as the first line of defense for the colonies. Even though the Nexus' defenses; GARDIAN lasers, mass accelerator turrets, and shielding had finally been installed, they were nonetheless a sitting target for any determined adversary. More were planned, the Alec Ryder would be laid down as soon as the berth was cleared, followed shortly after by the Zevin Raeka, Ishara, and Macen Barro once berth two was finished. Soon, they'd have a squadron of warships to ensure the survival of everyone on the Nexus.

Soft footfalls drew his attention. Looking behind him, the doors opened to reveal the form of Pathfinder Captain Scott Ryder. With his typical confident swagger, and boyish smile, he seemed to always be in a good mood. If it weren't for the sidearm holstered to his leg, he would have thought the young man to be on shore leave.

"Ryder."

"Kandros," Scott said. "How goes it?"

"Oh, you know."

"Mass hysteria?" Scott asked, smirking.

"Almost," Tiran admitted. He allowed Scott's infectious optimism to permeate through his typically steel-hard demeanor. "Swinging the Tempest by for some work?"

"Yeah," Scott replied. "Gil wants to take a look at the core and make sure everything is working properly. We hit some asteroids on our way out from Kadara and he wants to make sure nothing got busted. Drack and Peebee had to sell all the 'Varren's Jaw' that they've made in the last few weeks."

Kandros winced. "That stuff is strong. Makes paint thinner seem like water."

"Tell me about it." Scott crossed his arms, "Takes the edge off though when you're out of medi-gel."

"I'll take your word for it. No offense." Tiran gave the human a weird look before returning to the specter outside. "We picked out the Captain for your dad's ship."

"Really?" Scott asked. "Who is it?"

"A human Alliance veteran. Captain Daniel Cassing. Commanded the London before joining the Initiative." Tiran gave a nod. "He's a good man. Similar to your own dad."

"Thanks, Kandros." Scott said. "He'd be proud."

"I know, Pathfinder. Captain Cassing is a good man. Good mind too."

Scott looked out a the Jien Garson. Her hull was a dark blue and sterling white, with her name proudly displayed in galactic standard on the flanks. Small spurts of flame emanated from her aft engines as they were tested. In a few days, it would join the Tempest and the other ships of the Initiative's growing fleet in exploring and defending their new worlds. "Think you can give Temp some new KBs? Maybe those cyclonic ones Gil chatters my ear off about?"

Tiran nodded, "I can see what I can do. Have you found anything else interesting out there?"

Scott sighed. "Not really. We've been too busy dealing with the remaining Kett in the cluster. They still have a few Cruisers out there and they're pestering our automated stations. Cora and Drack and I will go in, bust their ship, and bug out."

"Too bad we don't have more nukes. Then we could really start giving the Kett some nosebleeds." Tiran clicked his jaw, watching as a caravan of automated transports swooped in low to discharge their payloads into the receiving bays for processing.

The door behind them hissed open and a nervous looking Salarian peered through. "Sirs, we've received a distress signal from the Dancer and Hera. They're under attack."

"Do we have fighters in range?" Kandros asked.

"No."

"Scott?"

Ryder was already consulting his omni-tool. "We can be ready for launch in ten minutes."

"Get to it then. Take Apex Fireteam Diamond with you."

"Got it." Scott made a beeline for the door, radioing Gil and the rest of the crew while doing so.

"Good luck, Pathfinder."


	3. Chapter 2: A Nice Neighborhood

**Chapter Two**  
A Nice Neighborhood

 **INITIATIVE SHUTTLE DANCER** ** _/_** **JOBA SYSTEM / 14:50 HOURS / MAY 13th 2820**

Captain Syena T'Loak had joined the Andromeda Initiative in a bid to escape her family's shame, one that was known across the entirety of known space. Her sister, Aria, had cut a swath of blood across the Terminus Systems. A quarter of a million people cut down in her ascension to ruler of Omega Station—the asteroid installation that housed millions of the galaxy's lowest scum. Her sibling's blood thirst had ended with Syena being blackballed by governments, by the Council, and by essentially every other corporation with a connection to the extranet. The prospect of flying to Andromeda, millions of light years from her past, had been all too tempting. The promise of seeing the unknown and wonders both beautiful and grotesque, had certainly been fulfilled in the last year.

"That's a big fucking ship." The human seated next to her was a skinny reed of a man, with wispy black hair and darting eyes. Dr. Glen Benson was smart but skittish and rather rude. "Bigger than anything we have."

The vessel in question was just over six hundred meters in length, with a long main body expanding into a massive aft quarter with twin hangar pods. A heavily armored plate at the back covered the majority of what were likely the most sensitive areas. Dozens of weapon emplacements and missile tubes dotted across the surface of the ship, the word _PIONEER_ proudly lit on the flanks in plain human English.

"That has to be human," Syena muttered. She had researched ship design languages, from the flowing organic lines of Asari craft to the layered avian appearance of Turian warships.

"They're broadcasting on an open frequency. No encryption," Harry Willard chimed in from the back. The man's pale skin was marred by soot and dirt from the frantic escape of the mining outpost. "It's in English."

"Are you sure?" Syena asked.

Willard nodded. "Yes."

"Put it on then!" Dr. Benson snapped.

"Alright, alright." Willard said back, "Don't bite my fucking head off there, _Glen_." Touching the glowing rune on the hologram, the cockpit speakers of the _Dancer_ crackled to life, filling the room with the smooth and direct tone of a human male.

 _"This is Colonel Kevin Marks of the United States Air Force Battlecruiser Pioneer. These shuttles are under our protection. Withdraw your attack now. Any attempt to fire on this vessel will be matched with force."_

"United States Air Force? They've been defunct since 2140," Willard said in disbelief. "What're they doing with a Cruiser in Andromeda?"

"Hell if I know, but those energy readings indicate that this _Pioneer_ ," Benson explained. "This ship is putting out enough energy to power the entirety of the Nexus for the a year every second. I highly doubt that it comes from those rock munchers on Mars or Arcturus."

Syena stared out of the cockpit window, watching as the _Pioneer_ 's surface came alive. Railgun fire streaked away, slashing through Kett fighters as if they were pieces of paper to a blow torch turning them into a rapidly expanding field of shimmering metal and smoke. Azure beams reached out from the warship on the tails of the railgun fire, slicing through the Kett battleship with contemptuous ease.

"We should get out of here." Willard said. "Now."

"I'd recommend against that. Our engines are pretty much shot, so unless you want to get out and push..." Benson's eyes flickered over to the brilliant flash that blanked out the rest space for a moment. The Kett ship had detonated; its aft section sending glittering shards of atomized material and its beetle like bow tumbling into space spewing smoke, debris, and chemicals. "And I'd prefer not piss off these people."

"They're hailing." Willard gulped. "Syena? You're the Cap."

Syena took her eyes away from the human warship. Both hangar pods had opened, launching a quartet of angular black fighters flanking a shuttle-like craft colored a black-green, which had turned towards the shuttles. They were likely search and rescue or an escort. If the warship had wanted them dead, then they'd have been hit by the mass accelerator or missile fire earlier. She had a feeling of complete powerlessness, something she had always felt since growing up with Aria.

"Syena?" Willard tapped her on the shoulder.

"Yeah, put them on."

"Okay." The human male tapped the controls allowing the unknown voice of this Colonel Marks to play.

" _Dancer, Hera, this is Pioneer. Are you in need of medical assistance?"_

Pausing, Syena's finger lingered over the comm button. Part of her wanted to run, just activate the FTL drive and run back to Prodromos or the Nexus, to be anywhere but here hauling ten dead personnel that had been slaughtered by the Kett on the planet below. Steeling herself, she pressed the button. "This is Captain Syena of Vulcan Station. We have a few minor lacerations and contusions, nothing serious. Not sure about _Hera."_

 _"Copy that, Captain. Are you capable of landing?_ "

Syena looked back at Willard and Benson. The two humans, even Benson, seemed out of it. Exhaustion? Stress? All she knew is that they needed a nice bed, a warm meal, and a shower. Returning her gaze, she pressed down again. "We are. I take it that we're supposed to follow your fighters in?"

" _You'd be correct, Captain Syena. From there, we'll render you medical care and if able, take you to your homeworld. Marks out."_

"Willard, follow those fighters in." The Asari looked at the human, "Nice and easy. Don't give them a reason to shoot."

"Yes, Ma'am. You think they would?" He asked.

She didn't know the answer and admitted so. "I have no clue, but I don't know what to think today. At all."

"Aye, Captain."

The _Kodiak's_ aft thrusters kicked in, slowly accelerating the brick-like shuttle towards the welcoming bays of the _Pioneer._ Two of the angular fighters flanked her, their hulls glimmering like light on water. Inside each, behind a semi-opaque cockpit window, they could see a single pilot in a vacuum suit; a multi-lensed helmet covering his face. USAF SF-200 was proudly emblazoned on the aft quarter of each wing and from here, Syena could just make out the outline of an internal weapons bay and the stubby barrels of a pair of mass accelerator cannons.

"They're small for fighters," Willard muttered. "The _Tridents_ I flew were upwards of twenty meters. These are just under fourteen."

"They're advanced," Benson said. "Just like their mothership. Lots of power, but it looks like they don't use Eezo. Must have developed along a different technological path. But they're human…"

"I have a feeling that lots of questions are going to be answered, soon." They passed through some sort of energy shield as they entered the port landing bay. The fighters peeled off, the two engines at the aft of the fighters flaring sending them back out into space. The internal doors open, people could be seen milling about next to other fighters and servicing several blocky looking ships that were of a different design than that of the cylindrical ship outside.

"They must have atmospheric shields," Benson said. "Otherwise they'd be grasping their throats and dying. Impressive."

"There," Syena said, ignoring Benson's comment. She pointed at a yellow-clad human with signaling sticks waving them towards a landing area. It was a large square at the side of the bay, away from the other fighters and vehicles. "Set us down."

"Yes, Ma'am."

 **CONFERENCE ROOM ALPHA / U.S.S.** ** _PIONEER_** **/16:00 HOURS/ MAY 13th 2017**

Conference Room Alpha was situated in a section of the outer periphery of the _Pioneer's_ aft side; one of the few rooms beside crew quarters and lounges that boasted windows, it was meant for the few times that United States Battlecruisers had to serve in a diplomatic role or were hosting dignitaries or statesmen. It was a room shaped in a wide rectangle, with comfortable lounge chairs and furniture and fine cabinetry. A large central table dominated the center of the room. On the wall opposite of the deck-high window, were models of craft belonging to the United States Joint Space Command, ranging from F-302s to _Condors_ to the _Prometheus_ and _Daedalus_ classes, all orbiting a name plate and crest of the _Pioneer_. Above those were portraits of the current US President James Mattis, Secretary of Defense Robert O. Work, Director of Homeworld Security General Jack O'Neill, and Commander of Joint Space Operations General Steven Caldwell.

Marks hated being in this room. It oozed and reeked of bureaucracy and the remnants of what the IOA had wanted the Stargate program to be, to put up a veneer of civility against the dark. It was a false reflection of what they were. The IOA had been more willing to act in their own self interests instead of looking at the big picture. Shaking his head, he glanced in the mirror and smoothed his black duty jacket, carefully inspecting the silver eagles on his collar, and the complex and colorful patch of the _Pioneer_ he wore on his right shoulder. He had earned full bird status five years ago in 2012, first commanding the older _Challenger_ , then finally the newer more advanced _Pioneer_ as the Allied task force drove into the heart of Lucian Alliance space and finally put the hydra of galactic malcontent to rest in thermonuclear fire. _Pioneer_ herself had destroyed a dozen Ha'taks and scores of other vessels that day in a battle that had not been seen since the Battle of Dakara. It still was evident in the bones and structure of the ship too. In the flight pods and mess halls were the names of those crew lost in battle, while near the main gun batteries and within the _Horizon_ deployment bay, a stencil had been painted for every vessel that had been felled by the guns of the battlecruiser.

The door to the room slipped open, revealing the forms of Lieutenant Colonel Jennifer Hailey and two United States Marines, each clad in their battle dress uniform and carrying a modified SCAR rifle and sidearm. Even with their bodies and faces hidden behind armor and an opaque face plate, Marks knew both of them to be men. Corporals, to be precise. Hailey waved them off and turned back as the door hissed shut behind her.

"How far out is our guest?" Marks asked, easing himself into one of the high-backed office chairs.

"About five minutes," Hailey answered. She surveyed the room. "About time we finally use this thing, it's been what two years?"

"Tell me about it," Marks said, drumming his fingers against the wooden table's surface. "The _Shepard_ and almost every ship that came after us and the original Flight I's lack these things. Waste of space. Could be better used for ammunition storage, shield generation, or something."

Hailey shrugged, taking a seat opposite that of Marks. "Weren't you in line for command of the _Paul Emerson_ when our tour was over?"

Marks paused, reflexively looking out the window at the glimmering star field and planetary body outside. The _Paul Emerson_ was the second _Olympia_ class Battleship to be commissioned, named after one of the most pivotal space warfare tacticians to ever grace the Air Force. Emerson and Caldwell had written the book on space warfare with 304s; hit them fast, close, then bug out and hit them from range.

"That's right," he finally said. "It's one of the few ships that the Air Force managed to keep away from the Navy. With every major sea faring warship being decommissioned and scrapped, the Navy has been launching a new 304 almost every month since disclosure, along with the few the Air Force have been able to get online. There's only ten _Olympias_ planned. _Emerson_ would have been the second and lead ship of the 5th Joint Fast Attack Wing. He would have been proud of that ship, hell _he will_ be proud of that ship."

"You two were close?" Hailey asked, observing a slip in Marks' typical stone-clad demeanor.

The Colonel sighed and gave a faint nod. "Yeah. He was a good man, an even better leader and tactician. We went through hell together; the Supergate, the Wraith, the Lucian Alliance…having two of your commanding officers be killed while you're on their command staff isn't something you really forget, especially when you're part of a small brotherhood. I was there when they launched the _Pendergast_ and Grant took command. Lionel's wife and kids, both sons and daughter, just graduating college, looked so happy to see their father's importance honored. Not only to them, but to the entire planet…"

Hailey leaned back, watching her friend and mentor carefully. "You know, you and Captain Royer are in similar boots to that of Emerson, Caldwell, Pendergast…even _Ronson_ who deserved better than he got! We're here, truly in the unknown with likely no way back home, and an entire civilization to protect. We're pioneers, just like this damn ship and just like them, you carry on their legacy every time you sit into that command chair, Sir."

"Agreed," Mark said. "And it's our duty to make sure that those forty-five thousand on Atlantis can live free."

Hailey glanced at her watch, "She should be in any minute now."

"Alright." Marks stood and pushed the chair in. "You're pretty good at unnecessary pep talks, Hailey."

"Thank you, Colonel." She said, "One of my many, many skills."

The doors to the room parted again, revealing two Marines and an Air Force Lieutenant escorting a blue skinned woman. She was just under six foot, with a soft expression and intelligent eyes. Her skin was a light blue, almost matching her uniform in terms of color, and her 'hair' seemed more an vestigial collection of tentacles than anything else. Poised and regal, Marks knew who he was dealing with instantly.

Coming to attention the Lieutenant allowed the alien woman to enter the room. The Marines followed suit, taking position at the door.

"That'll be all, Lieutenant Moore," Marks said.

"Yes, Sir." The young man left, leaving the Marines behind.

Syena glanced at the two soldiers before meeting eyes with Marks and Hailey. Marks was a tall, athletic man with brown hair and soft spoken green eyes. Hailey was a blonde, petite, wisp of a woman with eyes that were as ruthless as they were intelligent. It reminded her of her sister.

"I am Captain Syena T'Loak of the Andromeda Initiative's Vulcan-Five station. Thank you for the excellent care that has been delivered to myself and my crew." She bowed her head slightly, "I only wish that you we had not met in such a manner."

Marks smiled, "By the standards of some of our first contacts, this was one of the easier ones. Please, have a seat. The Marines are here only as a precaution. I'm Colonel Kevin Marks and this is my executive officer, Lieutenant Colonel Jennifer Hailey."

"Nice to meet you." Syena said, taking a seat at the opposite end of the table. "I must admit, seeing more humans outside of Meridian or Prodromos is a bit odd, especially claiming to be from a defunct geopolitical entity with a ship capable of destroying a Kett warship."

"Well, we're not exactly from around here," Hailey said. "We were hoping that you might fill us in a bit…give us some more context to the entirety of the situation."

Syena paused, looking out the window. The irradiated remains of Vulcan-Five station could still be seen from here on the planet below. She had held out then, waiting for reinforcements that would never come, before evacuating. Not again. Looking at the two humans, she smiled. "Where would you like to begin?"

"Who are these Kett exactly? And what is the Andromeda Initiative? We would have never guessed to find other humans or near-humans when we arrived." Marks studied her. She was capable but seemed nervous. Maybe she had lost someone on the surface?

Bristling at the thought of the Kett, Syena pursed her lips. "The Kett aren't native to the Heleus Cluster—this 300 light year pocket of space in Andromeda. They're settlers, more so conquerors, not quite like us and I guess yourselves. They kidnap and enslave other species, turning them into subspecies of their own in a form of genetic assimilation. Kett isn't a species more so than a racial identity forced upon an individual. Since we first arrived in Heleus in 2818, the Kett have been attacking Initiative outposts and ships relentlessly. Killed a lot of good people, including most of my operating crew."

Marks nodded in understanding. "I am very sorry for your loss."

"Thank you," she replied. "The Kett are remorseless. When we first arrived in Andromeda two years ago, they found our initial settlements and wiped us out. Kidnapped dozens of us and experimented. Vivisections, pain analysis, just right-out torture. They wanted to find a way to assimilate us into their empire, to make us them. They ignore surrender requests, they ignore dignity. They'll kidnap your dead and try to make them their own. If you're not Kett, then they view you as nothing more than a disposable object, nothing more than dirt."

Marks felt his face lose a bit of color. "That sounds…very familiar."

Hailey studied her expression momentarily. The Asari had lost people to Kett, more so than those killed. "Wait, what? Genetic assimilation? How does that even work? What's their objective?"

"I just told you all I know. My bosses will have more." T'Loak quickly changed the subject, both out of security and lack of knowledge.. "Now, I'm assuming you want to know what the Initiative is?

"That's right." Marks stated, sharing a sideways glance with Hailey. "We were transported along with some other people due to a unique temporal spatial anomaly that flung us out here."

"It could best be described as a semi-transitioned subspace field…" Hailey was interrupted by the Asari female holding a hand up.

"I'm a geologist so I'll pretend to understand what you just said." Syena clasped her hands together in her lap. "The Initiative is a multi-species coalition involving the Asari, my race, Humans, Salarians, Turians, and Krogan. We left the Milky Way, as your people call it, in 2186, and arrived at Heleus in 2818—some a little bit later. From there, we've been fighting the Kett and trying to establish a new home for everyone out here…on the edge of known space."

"I take it that hasn't been easy?" Marks asked. He had read the reports about the Atlantis Expedition when they had first arrived.

"Hell no," Syena said, catching herself by surprise with her bluntness. "No. It hasn't been. We've struggled to eke out a living here until recently because the shit hit the fan as soon as we got here. Lots of people died, including quite a bit of our command chain. Then we had uprisings and mutinies. Then the fucking Kett and Roekaar started killing us while we're killing each other. If it weren't for the _Hyperion_ , and Pathfinder Scott Ryder, I'd be worm food right about now. They'll know more."

"Do you have a central governing authority?" Hailey asked, "A council? A President?"

Syena snorted at the mention of a council. "Yeah, and they're about as effective as the Council we left in the Milky Way six hundred years ago. They're at the Nexus, a big space station. Don't know how to get to there, but show me a map and I can point ya in the right direction. Roughly."

"You seem rather forthcoming with this information," Hailey commented.

Syena nodded. "Yeah, you saved me and my crew from getting killed or worse. You gave us medical treatment, food, water, and a hot shower. Plus, you're human and have a ship that's obviously not Exile, Initiative or whatever. You've done more for me now than the Nexus has in the last year.'

"Alright," Marks said. "Well, we can drop you off at the Nexus or wherever you'd like after we're done taking some scans of the local area and updating our superiors on the situation. In the mean time, I've made our VIP quarters available for you and your crew once they're discharged from med bay. You will have an escort on this ship at all times and certain areas will be restricted. Is that understood?"

"Your ship, Captain. Do what you want."

"Thank you, Ms. Syena. The Marines will escort you to your crews' quarters." Marks stood, matched by the Asari shortly after. Turning, she bowed her head and followed the Marine leader out the door.

"Well, that went well." Hailey bit her bottom lip reflexively. "So now we know the layout of the land."

"Take everything she said with a grain of salt," Marks stated. "Get to the Bridge and scan everything within twenty light years. Based off the scans of their FTL drives, they couldn't have gone far. We'll find the Nexus, drop out, and make official first contact. For good or bad."

"Yes, Colonel."

Hailey soon left the room, leaving only Marks. Rubbing his brow, he turned towards the monitor and prepared for one of the most bizarre debriefs of his command career.

 **GENERAL CARTER'S OFFICE / ATLANTIS /17:00 HOURS/ MAY 13th 2017**

Samantha Carter took a long sip of coffee, tasting the dark French roast mix and mingle with her taste buds before cascading down her throat. It was lukewarm, having sat on her desk for the last hour during the debriefing with Colonel Marks. Lasting the majority of that hour, they had gone over everything, including the unfortunate confrontation with the Kett warship. The Council Intelligence staff on Atlantis were already pouring over data, analyzing and studying every minute scrap of information; from FTL drive to hull composition. It was a nice change of pace, she had to admit. An easily defeated adversary that hadn't even registered damage on the shields was preferable to the world-ending power of a Wraith Hive.

A knock on the glass partition to her office drew her attention. Swivelling her chair away from the now-dormant monitor, she found Doctor Rodney McKay standing with a computer tablet under his arm and a cup of coffee in his hand. It seemed that the entire command staff was downing the miracle liquid by the gallon in the last week, especially so today.

"What's up, Rodney?"

"Not much," he said. "I was finishing up the final scans from our long range sweeps and came across something interesting."

"Okay." Carter stood, taking her coffee mug and refilling it on the table nearby. "Have a seat."

"Thanks." McKay scampered over and eased himself down.

She took a sip from her refilled cup and took her seat again. Placing it in front of her, she leaned back. "So, what did you find?"

McKay gave a heavy sigh. The fourteen years of deployment with the expedition having calmed him from the rabid, hyper-active scientist she had known all those years ago. Now, he was a calm and collected person that carried a sort of weight with him. "We were definitely transported through time and space to a section of the Andromeda Galaxy that Earth-based telescopes couldn't identify. Adding to that, we were sent about eight hundred and three years into the future."

"Yeah, we know this. Find a way back?" Carter's question cut right to the point. Rodney could tell she was tired from being up for almost sixty four hours straight, he'd been up about as long himself.

McKay handed Carter the Surface. On its screen were dozens of equations scrawled out in sloppy penmanship, next to results and tabulated tables filled with data and values. Most of it would be incomprehensible gibberish to anyone other than the General. She took the pad and looked at it, the color draining from her face as she did so.

"Are you sure about this?" She asked, eyes flickering back up and then back down.

"Radek and I have gone over the results a hundred times. There was a quantum event. Everything hit by that semi-transitioned subspace wave was duplicated down to the subatomic level. Some wacky physics happened then and propelled us across time and space into a different reality. Best we can tell that there are at least two versions of ourselves—the originals—who are continuing on with their lives, and us."

"The duplicates," Carter said flatly.

"Yes." McKay had once been an energetic, exuberant, and irreverent figure, who would have likely been off the rails with this information. It had been a sobering fourteen years in Atlantis, however. It had tempered him, weathered him into the collected individual he was today.

"Fuck," the General muttered. "Woolsey and Melbourne are going to flip."

"Yeah, I suspect," McKay responded. "Fallout shouldn't be too bad. Everyone on this city and stationed here knew that it could be a one way trip. They've all been heavily screened, tested, and make sure to be mentally sound."

Carter smiled. "That was a surprisingly sober response from you, Rodney."

"Well, sometimes histrionics doesn't help all that much." He took the tablet back and placed it in his lap. "That much I've learned."

Leaning back, Carter looked out at the control and gate room. "At least ourselves and families back home will not be in limbo, wondering what happened. They'll go about their lives, unaware that their duplicates are out here."

"That's true," McKay responded. "But we're going to have to tell everyone here sooner than later."

"Is there any chance that we might be able to send a message back to our home reality…give everyone some closure?" Sam thought of Jack, of Cassandra, of all those that she was leaving behind.

"I don't know," Rodney admitted. "Let me see what I can do."

"Get her done and on my desk and I'll approve it," Carter stated. "You know what's kind of reassuring?"

"What's that?" McKay asked.

"That we're not alone in this galaxy, not faced with the same situation that you did over a decade ago."

McKay grinned, "I guess that's true. Although these Kett do seem like a manageable nuisance."

A harsh shrill sounded in the control room, drawing both of their attention.

"Long range contact, forty billion kilometers out. Bearing, one five three by two one one mark zero five one. Unknown designation!" Sergeant Campbell called out.

Carter and Rodney rushed over to the sensor screen, seeing the soft red dot of an unknown contact.

"Raise the shield and have our birds in the air. Comms, get me Royer." Carter looked at McKay, "looks like we have a visitor."

 **BRIDGE / U.S.S.** ** _ALAN SHEPARD_** **/ ATLANTIS /16:50 HOURS/ MAY 13th 2017**

The U.S.S. _Alan Shepard_ , BCV-60, had been commissioned as the fifth _Daedalus-_ class Battlecruiser operated by the United States Navy, joining her thirty-nine sister ships of the United States Navy and Air Force in defending Earth and Humanity from the darkness that wished to consume mankind whole. Since its launch in 2012, Captain Ben Royer had overseen and guided the ship through hundreds of battles and dozens of campaigns, be it in the form of the Alliance War, the Goa'uld Resurgence, or the Wraith's second awakening.

With a soft hiss, the bridge doors opened to revealing the bustling command center at the heart of the vessel. A dozen crew members were milling about, readying and maintaining the ship for whatever might come down the pipes. The crew had taken the unceremonious deposit of their ship into Andromeda well. It was the nature of the job, the possibility of never seeing home again.

"Captain on deck!" Commander Winston Pragg called out. The Executive Officer stood at attention, as did the other staff.

"At ease, I have the conn," Royer responded. He walked in front, looking out at the main monitors and displays. "Report."

"Operating in the green, Captain. No changes." Pragg moved away from the aft holotank and next to Royer. "Next CAP is launching in ten minutes."

"Any word from Marks and the _Pioneer_?" Royer asked, looking at the tall man next to him. Pragg was a good few inches taller, but with a lanky build more fit for a submariner than a seasoned surface warfare officer. His short-cut black hair was stuffed underneath the digital camouflage cap.

"Aye, Sir. They're likely to RTB within the next hour with some visitors."

"Oh, really?" Royer crossed his arms, watching the planet's rotation in the monitor. "I've been so busy dealing with the issues in engineering that I haven't had a chance to read any report updates."

"Thankfully, they're friendly. Three of them are human too."

"No shit," Royer muttered. "Even in another time and galaxy, some things never change."

"Sir," Lieutenant Commander Ashley Anderson at sensors called out. "We have a ping on long range sensors. Unknown contact, thirty meters in length. Atlantis is requesting we investigate."

Royer turned, "Alright then. Shields up, go to general quarters. Standby hyperspace jump. Let's see who wants to poke their nose in our business."

"Aye, Sir. Helm, lay in a course to match the unknown contact. Commence pin point hyperspace jump. Weapons, load VLS cells one through five with anti-fighter packages. Spool up railguns and raise shields." Pragg barked out the orders with honed efficiency. After his ship, the USS _Dunham_ was decommissioned as part of the Navy's mass pivot to _Daedalus_ and _Olympia_ class space warships, he had been assigned here. His first deployment thus far was already showing why he had such a long list of accolades. He was good; fast, efficient, and smart. Exactly what Royer needed in an XO.

There was a crescendo of affirmations from all stations as Royer felt the bridge deck beneath him rumble as the _Shepard_ 's main engines flared to life, ion-gravitational energies propelling her away from orbit. The hyperspace generator roared to life, status displays overhead showing the capacitors' status'.

"Drive ready, power levels steady."

"Commence point jump," Royer said.

"Aye, aye, Captain. Commencing jump."

The _Shepard_ accelerated forward, vanishing in a flash of light before reappearing less than a second later a thousand kilometers away from the contact.

"Jump complete, bearing one two one by one one five mark three two seven. Reorienting to bring us about to the contact."

"Designate unknown contact Echo-one," Royer said. "On screen."

One of the monitors snapped to a live feed of the unknown contact. It was a bulbous craft, with two large turbofans on either side of the main assembly. It was colored a deep orange and he could make out noticeable weapon emplacements, likely high caliber repeating cannons.

"Threat analysis," Pragg said.

"Powered by an unknown fusion drive with unknown gravity and mass control systems. Armament consists of two low-powered railguns. Hull is composed of a steel, aluminum, and carbon composite."

"Comms, open a channel. Audio only."

"Channel open."

Royer placed his hands at the small of his back. "This is Captain Ben Royer of the United States Navy Battlecruiser _Alan Shepard_. You are in restricted space. Withdraw now or you will be taken into custody."

"Contact lock. They've targeted us." Pragg looked up from the station he was observing.

"Hold off weapons," Royer said. He knew that even a brief burst from one of their railguns would annihilate the small craft. Same with their point-defense missiles. "Activate tractor beam. Initiate suppressor field."

"Aye, Sir."

A searing blue beam reached out from the belly of the _Shepard_ , latching onto the small ship and sending it into a lateral spin. Lights on the vessel winked off and the engines died.

"Alright, I guess we'll do this the hard way. Ops, beam them directly to the brig, just like usual. Get rid of their armor and weapons while you're at it too." Royer walked over to the right most screen, studying the captured vessel.

"Aye, Sir."

"After that, get us back into orbit again. Pragg, you're with me. Let's go talk to our guests. Anderson, you have the bridge."

 **BRIDGE / A.I.S.** ** _TEMPEST_** **/17:30 HOURS/ MAY 13th 2820**

"Coming out now," Kallo Jath said.

The vortex of lensed stars and space came to an abrupt end, the _Tempest_ reverting into real space with a sudden halt and a flare of Cherenkov radiation.

"Anything on sensors, Suvi?" Ryder asked, looking over to Dr. Anwar.

"One second," the Scottish scientist said. Eyes widening, her face lit up. "There's an ion trail. It's not from a Kett ship or one of our own."

"Alright then," Ryder looked back out at the bridge window. "Kallo, lay in a course. Full stealth."

"Understood, Pathfinder."

The _Tempest_ angled itself in space, propelling away from the transit point and towards the far away ion trail.

Ryder got a glimmer of dust in the corner of his eye. Turning towards it he found the glittering star field of what remained of the Kett vessel; the bow section still floating in space in a cloud of smoke and vacuum-exposed chemicals. The edges were jagged, a burning red as if they had been cut through with a blow torch.

"What happened here?" Anwar asked, studying the scene.

"Whatever happened, the Kett lost. Big time." Ryder looked at his omnitool. "Kallo, bring us into orbit of Vulcan station. Suvi, scan everything. Let's find our missing people."


	4. Chapter 3: Settling In

Author's Note: My sincerest apologies over the delay. I had to rewrite this chapter about four or five times to get it how I wanted. Add in busy work and school schedule, and you get the large time delay. I hope to have the next chapter out in November sometime, maybe sooner. Thanks to Spartan303 (JonHarper) and Ash's Boomstick (Bob Regent).

 **Chapter Three**

Settling In

 **PROSPECT SITE 2 / PRODROMOS COLONY / EOS / MAY 15TH 2017 (AST) / 10:00 HOURS**

When living on Eos one became accustomed to the wind, the forlorn call and hiss and whisper of the omnipresent forces around them seemed destined to break one, should it be allowed. Even in the newly-excavated bunkers, designed to survive orbital bombardment, the skeletal howl could still be heard and through it, felt. Transports and flights were bumpy and brutal, and even spaceships sometimes were affected by the howling force as they breached the envelope of the planet's atmosphere.

Governor August Bradley secured the goggles over his eyes and stepped out of the bay of the Kodiak dropship. The plateau in front of him was wide and flat, seeming to stretch onto the infinite horizon and curve of the desert world. Pale tan and rust met robin's egg blue interspersed with puffy white blobs or pale streaks of cloud formation. Rain was becoming sporadic, small pockets here and there gradually growing over the months since the activation of the Vault. It didn't seem to be occurring at a rate to ease colonization however, even with the radiation that had once permeated the entirety of the planet gone, there were still a variety of issues to be addressed. These ranged from lack of fertile soil, continued attacks by Remnant technological artifacts, Kett raids and even what had been coined as 'prairie madness.' He knew what that felt like. They were relatively isolated out here, two thousand colonists alone in a desert living under a siege mentality, he only hoped that once the Jien Garson launched that they'd be able to better combat the Kett, For now it was a slog at the best of times.

What they had found in the desert, on what was being called Prospect Site Two, might just change all of that. Pinching the horizon he found the device in question, it was a great black ring just under seven meters in diameter, with a variety of runes and colors etched into the mirror like finish. Scattered around it, in an almost religious like formation were the remains of the Kett that had been killed securing the site, since then an APEX fireteam had been sent from the Nexus along with a handful of infantry fighting vehicles, an AAA battery and a number of other defenses. A square and squat command and research facility sat about twenty meters distant.

Bradley waved to the pilot and walked down the steps feeling his boots sink slightly in the sand, two security officers nodded to him, Avenger assault rifles cradled in their hands. Their white armor was stained with sand and dirt, almost as if it were meant to be desert camouflage. He stopped near the closest one, a young man, his eyes locked forward behind his sunglasses with his chin up. Bradley instantly pegged him as a former Alliance Marine.

"What's your name, Son?" Bradley asked.

"Corporal Tom Callo." He was a slow talking Marine from down south.

"Semper Fi."

"Semper Fi, Sir."

Bradley gave a nod and continued on his way. Snaking his way through the layers of defenses, scientific equipment, and buildings that had been obscured by the command centre, he finally found himself close enough to appreciate the device. It was a polished, sleek metal, with soft white runes and seven above-ground deltas, the horizon was framed perfectly in the large void at the center of the ring.

"Reminds me of the Galaxy Frame on Thessia." The voice of a Salarian drew his attention.

Bradley glanced back, finding a regal blue skinned Salarian slowly walking up behind him, his red eyes peeked out from his large goggles, carefully studying everything. Senior Researcher Ralla Trow had been assigned to the artifact since it had been discovered. "Doctor Trow."

"Governor," the Salarian offered his hand. "It's good to see you here. I take it you have read all of my reports regarding this strange, strange band?"

Bradley shook the Salarian's hand. "That I have, Doctor. It's interesting to say the least, so you believe it can act in a manner similar to the Prothean teleport that Commander Shepard found all those years ago?"

Trow gave a nod. "In a manner of speaking yes, the specifics and technical background for the device here are completely different to Prothean technologies but I believe it to be relatively the same concept. Essentially a pin-point trans-locator, based off the energy requirements I would say it would be more capable of sending a person across a solar system or possibly even across a galaxy."

"Via a wormhole, correct?" Bradley asked as he walked forward, raising his hand he laid his palm against the smooth metal of the band, it seemed to warm to his touch, as if inviting him to step through.

"That's the assumption at the moment. However the energy requirements for such a thing are significant and we are working on installing one of our fusion reactors as the power source. From there we may be able to attempt a dial, so to speak, activate the band and discover what lays beyond it." Trow mulled the worlds, his lanky fingers dancing across his omnitool.

"Is it Kett? Remnant?" Bradley asked. At a certain angle, you could see the entirety of the cluster and the angry smears of the Scourge framed in the sky through the band. "Or something else?"

"Something else. It's truly old. Millions of years, at least. From the time of the Jardaan, yet there is not a trace of element zero within its folds and slabs." Trow shook his head, clicking his tongue as he did so. "No, no. Whatever this is, it is something far from what we have discovered in either the Milky Way or Heleus thus far."

Bradley nodded, studying the ring. "Tell me something, Doctor."

"Hmmm?"

"Is it Reaper?" Bradley looked him in his large, sympathetic ruby eyes.

Trow swallowed. "No. I don't believe it is. I would hope that the cursed menace had no tendrils, thought, or reason in his new domain. Not even the Reapers, and all of their great black ships and esoteric magic, would be able to craft such a device."

"Then let us hope that whoever built this," Bradley swept his arm across the ring. "Is long buried."

 **BRIDGE / USS PIONEER / HYPERSPACE / MAY 16TH 2017 (AST) / 10:00 HOURS**

Syena had yet to become accustomed to the swirling maelstrom of hyperspace with all its intricate streaks and shapes, much less had she become accustomed to being aboard the Pioneer, even after two days of being onboard she had yet to fully come to terms with what these humans were. On the surface they were identical to the ones she knew from the Initiative and the life she had left behind in the Milky Way, yet there was a sense of maturity and duty in each one of them. This was not a crew of vagabonds, volunteers, and people without a place to go—like that of the Initiative—these people wanted to be here and were the best of the best. They had stopped at Atlantis for a day, both to repair her shuttles, meet the leadership of Atlantis and prepare for the coming meeting with the Nexus.

Doctor Woolsey, the bespectacled ambassador and diplomat who had been talking to her almost nonstop stepped up to the window, he smelled of peppermint and a touch of cologne. At first glance he appeared to be nothing more than a man in a suit with a demeanor somewhere between lawyer and accountant, yet Syena had seen something within him, something in his eyes. He was as battle tested and war hardened as even the oldest Krogan, with the scars to prove it. Perhaps they weren't visible externally, but she had noticed his gait, how he behaved around other military members. When there had been snaps or cracks or thuds, his pupils had widened and muscles flexed, as if he were ready to fight. His eyes scanned a room, almost taking its tactical value before preceding into it.

"Ms. T'Loak," Woolsey said. His voice was smooth, calm, and poised. "We're about five minutes from dropping out of hyperspace. We'll be on the very edge of the system before approaching the Nexus, as to not spook them."

"Smart," she responded. "You're taking what I told you to heart, Tann will likely jump the gun, maybe the Asari Pathfinder too. Kandros will want to hold back and analyze and Kesh too."

"That's exactly our thoughts," Woolsey stated. "Now, I have a proposition for you."

Syena's eyebrows raised. "Is that so? What is it?"

"As you know, the original plan was to have you fly the Kodiaks out alongside our dropships. I was wondering if you'd instead prefer to be onboard the Condor? It would help our position if instead of an exclusively human and heavily armed delegation landing first, you'd be the first face they saw. A more…Asari touch if you will." He gave a nod, watching her. "So?"

Giving the thought weight, Syena gave a light nod of her head. "Very well, Mr. Woolsey. I agree."

Woolsey smiled. "I'm glad to hear that."

"The look on that son of a bitch Tann's face…" she grinned like a Cherisher cat.

"Ambassador," Colonel Marks said. "We're dropping out now."

"Thank you, Colonel."

Marks turned away from the two, gliding over to his command chair. Locking his eyes forward he steeled himself. First contact. In a new reality. In a new galaxy. In a new reality. Not exactly routine.

"Approaching hyperspace transit point." Lieutenant Colonel Hailey called out.

"Commence transition."

"Yes, Colonel."

The pilot reached forward, flicking the switches they sent the Pioneer screaming into the depths of normal space in a burst of light, it was a pale star field, with few stars blinking or burning. The gray, gold-laced smear of the Scourge reached up in great bands, twisting and turning into intricate formations that blocked out the stars themselves.

"Report," Marks called out. He stepped away, maneuvering himself to the bow of the bridge and in-between Syena and Woolsey.

"Sun is a class two blue giant, I'm detecting four planets all in varying orbits, none are habitable but there are significant deposits of naquadah and element zero, that new material, within the system." Hailey said, her eyes locked onto the sensor officer's screen. "Nexus is in orbit of the star, length is fifteen point four seven kilometers, diameter of three point five kilometers. Mass is several trillion metric tons, detecting multiple kinetic barriers, armor systems, and several hundred laser, railgun, and missile batteries. Threat level is medium."

"Identify on target board," Marks said, looking back. "Any other ships in system?"

"Yes, Sir." Hailey brought up a heads-up-display on the bridge's main viewscreen. Dozens of small ships, ranging from shuttle sized to hundred meter auto-freighters were streaming in and out of the Nexus with orderly precision. "One hundred and seventy three vessels, ranging from Kodiak class ships to large freighters carrying precious and ferrous materials, a few are armed. Although there is one vessel, frigate sized, currently under construction along one of the shipyard arms. Based off scans, it is nearing completion, threat level is minimal."

"Maintain shields and battle readiness. Comms, standby to open a channel, translate into Asari, Salarian, Krogan, English, and anything else we might have in the system." Marks returned his vision to the star field. "You guys sure do build big," he commented, looking over at the Asari.

"Trust me," Syena said. "Talk to one of the administrators and you'll see why, half the space is to keep them from killing each other. The rest is to hide the bodies."

Marks raised an eyebrow. "Sounds like the Security Council at times."

"Indeed," Woolsey stated.

"Comms ready."

"Alright, Doctor, time to put on a show." Marks patted him on the shoulder and moved back to the command area.

Woolsey turned his chin up and tapped his ear piece. "This is Ambassador Richard Woolsey, speaking onboard the Earth ship Pioneer to the command staff and people of the Andromeda Initiative. As your sensors are likely picking up now, we are on the very edge of the system awaiting your approval to approach your beautiful space station. We come in peace and wish to open a dialogue between our two peoples for mutual cooperation and benefit so that both of our civilizations flourish under the light of new stars. In addition, we have several team members from your mining station who are eager to see their friends and family again, I hope that you'll take our offer of friendship seriously and I eagerly await your response."

"Good speech," Syena stated. "I'd vote for you."

"We're receiving a message."

 _"_ _This is Nexus Command to the vessel claiming to be the Pioneer, maintain your current distance and await instructions. Any action contrary will be considered hostile and responded to with force."_ It was a Turian's voice, with the signature vocal after affect. Syena, if she remembered correctly, placed the voice to that of Kandros; the Secretary of Defense for the Nexus.

A harsh shrill came across the bridge. Hailey looked over to Marks. "Multiple weapon systems just came online across the station and targeted us. Shields are up and holding, as are our jamming fields."

"Smooth and steady," Marks said with a raised hand.

"They have launched a squadron of fighters as screens, along with some..." Hailey's expression soured. "...Gunships. They're about fifty meters long, multiple mass drivers and a missile rack, multiple Kodiaks too, I'm guessing that they are expecting us to standoff with missiles.''

"Keep shields raised and jammers on, but otherwise do nothing." Marks said. "Keep our birds in the bays, let's show them that we're harmless."

"For now," Hailey muttered. "Yes, Colonel."

"Syena," Woolsey said with a cock of his head. "Do you by chance know who that is talking?"

Syena looked over for a moment, "It sounds like Secretary of Defense Tiran Kandros, he's pretty much the military commander of the Nexus. Good, a bit hard-nosed and has a stick up his ass sometimes, but he can be reasoned with and he'll operate within reason."

"Understandable. Would you be up for possible going over with your shuttles and crew? A measure of good faith…" Woolsey waved his hand. "Perhaps defuse this situation entirely."

"Sounds good."

"Alright then." Woolsey tapped his earpiece again. "We copy you, Nexus Control, perhaps a show of good faith would help relieve the tension? I can't help but notice that you have several weapons batteries targeted at my ship, would it be allowable if we were to release the personnel we saved from the Kett?"

The Nexus' speaker paused for a moment, likely in conference with whomever was with them. Finally, Kandros' voice came through. " _That would be agreeable. No fighter escorts and they are to follow along the path we're piggybacking onto this transmission._ "

"Very well." Woolsey said. "Colonel?"

"Syena, Master Sergeant Greggs will escort you down to the starboard flight pod. Good flying."

 **ATLANTIS ISOLATION ROOM /PIER FIVE / ATLANTIS / MAY 16TH 2017 (AST) / 12:00 HOURS**

The three Kett that had been beamed onboard the Alan Shepard had dwindled to two, and then one, as the capture engrams activated within the brains. One had killed them-self by repeatedly bashing their head against the smooth, stainless steel wall, the second had charged a Marine Security Officer's position and been filled with trinium hollow point rounds, the third, the Primus, was now alone. The humans had stripped her of her attire, instead relegating her to a constricting orange jumpsuit that seemed to be made of something fit for beasts of burden, not a Kett of her standing.

She had taken the captured Initiative transport in an attempt to circumvent the constant attacks on Kett shuttles and shipping by the Initiative, for a moment there had been hope that the sensor spoofing technology would allow her to regroup with Kett assets within the region. That plan however, had evaporated as soon as their randomized FTL jump had dropped them in front of an enemy cruiser, now it had been a constant cycle of inconsistent day and dark, a handful of meals and the soft buzz of overhead lights.

The door hissed open with a crack, stainless steel melting into a darkened hallway where two large, armored humans stood. A female of the species entered flanked by two other large males, all were armed and the female seemed to be in command, with an aura of authority emanating throughout her bones and plain walk. Just under two meters tall, the woman had long blonde-brown hair pulled back in a pony tail and a pair of typically human but soft eyes, she wore an armored vest and sidearm.

"I'm Major General Samantha Carter, commanding officer of the joint command authority of Atlantis. How are you holding up?" She surveyed the cell. It was a spartan affair, with a cot, a toilet, and a small bookshelf embedded into the wall. Even at full speed, Primus would not be able to cross the distance before being gunned down. Perhaps she could wrap her fingers around the woman's throat and wrench it apart, no, the human knew that she could. There was other trickery at foot.

The Primus blinked, running the divided tongue across the hard lips. "Have you come to kill me too?"

"It is unfortunate," the General said. "About what happened to your subordinates. Our medical professionals did everything possible, but those memory engrams were simply far too powerful and the damage too great. But kill you? Hardly."

Primus smirked, "So you lock me in a cell, deprive me of sleep and refuse to give me station or board for someone of my status?" Lifting up her shackles, that had survived multiple attempts to be broken, the Primus gave them a shake.

"Those are for your safety, as much as they are for ours." The General looked down at her in a manner that the Primus had to tens of thousands of Angara, it was not of pity or of remorse, it was that of power. "We are aware that you are able to generate a bio-electric field, one that might very well pose a threat."

"The Kett," the Primus began. Perhaps posturing would allow her to escape this situation, or at least allow her some degree of respect. "Are willing to overlook this discrepancy in judgement, this period of mistrial…"

"We know that you assimilate other sentient beings," the General said, almost bluntly. The Primus recoiled as if struck.

"We uplift them! Make them ascendant to the greatness that is the Kett genetic lineage." The Primus waved her hands in wide arcs. "You will see this too one day… when our great swarm dances across the stars and lays siege to this world…"

One of the heavily armored and armored humans leaned over to the General. "Sounds familiar," he muttered. Their language was different than that of the Humans in the Initiative and the keen ears of the Primus detected such abnormalities, this was a new party on the stage, another actor.

The Primus cocked her head, nasals flaring. "I don't sense the same feeling of dread and fear in you as I did in the other humans that dare tread on the greatness that is Kett. Is it blindness? Is it simple ignorance of what will happen to you…what has happened from here to the other edge of this great sea? No…."

The human seemed unamused with the Primus' sleep-deprived ramblings. "Your randomized FTL jump and the capture of your ship has given us a treasure trove of information; diagnostic informations, navigational data, weapons research, fleet formations. You can do a lot with information."

"Yes you can…"

"We have identified one of the worlds that you have launched raids from, we have already sent a fake transmission urging the crew to evacuate, all with your voice and authority. When our ship arrives in orbit, it will commence bombardment on the world and burn it. No longer will you be able to attack the Initiative, nor will you pose a threat to us." The General kneeled down to the Primus' level, matching the Kett's gaze with unmatched ferocity. The Primus had seen such determination before, from a dozen leaders, all had fallen into dust and ash. But this female? She was different, these humans would stand against the dark. "Your war…ends here."

The Primus bowed her head. "Many have said that, yet all have rushed into what I am certain are their graves. Some have been given the ultimate gift, being made ascendant and into Kett. Many more, unfortunately, have been reduced to dust and ash for their insolence."

"We've heard that before," General Carter said slowly.

"I bet you have" The Primus leaned back. "All this has happened before, you realize? The same play, different actors. Once, it was the Anuar that dared resist us, now they too are Kett. Same with the Rea, they now serve under the guidance of the Ascendancy, their bones and minds formed to adhere and serve us."

"We're not them." Carter stood, moving over to Sheppard. "John, tell the Captain that Operation: First Strike is a go. Let Council Intelligence know that they can do what they want now to the asset."

Sheppard gave a nod, a grim line forming on his lips. "Yes, Ma'am."

 **COMMAND STATION / KETT INSTALLATION 'PINNACLE OF DIVINITY' /MAY 16TH 2017 (AST) / 13:00 HOURS**

He had once had a name, back when he had been impure. Now, his name was Sar Del Archon. Once his skin had been blue and purple, with graceful elegant spots along the bony crests of his breastplate and eyes that dreamed of reclaiming all that his ancestors had lost when the Scourge had struck. It all seemed like a distant memory now, that past life, now his body was changed. Stronger, faster, smarter. The Kett had improved him in ways never before seen or believed by the foolish Angaran scientists and skeptics and schemers.

They had received the call from the Primus, one that had been an impersonation. With an attack lingering on the very fringes of the Commandant's mind, they had reinforced the world, but had seen fit to disperse the forces of most importance and power across the rest of the Kett's foothold in Heleus. Should this world fall, as unlikely as that was, the Kett would be able to respond with overwhelming, divine force.

A great flash occurred up in the sky, erasing the black of night with brilliant light. The six Kett cruisers in orbit, ships by their own right capable of stripping a planet of civilization, detonated in brilliant flashes of light. Smaller pinpricks and stars signaled the demise of their escorts and charges, tens of thousands of blessed ones were erased in seconds, as if they had never existed at all.

Alerts were already blaring throughout the command center, Sar felt adrenaline pump through his veins, almost stopping his hearts. The screens showed hollow gray shells where the defense force had been and a single, lone ship in orbit, it blinked softly, targeted by the extensive networks of defensive batteries on the surface and in orbit. One by one, those too went silent and dark as night, the vessel was eliminating them with almost contemptuous ease.

The Sub-Commandant licked his lips and keyed something onto the screen, the face of a pale-skinned beast snapped on, with a back drop of an ugly, utilitarian bridge unmarred or blessed by the elegance of Ascendency. The beast spoke in an alien tongue, beady blue eyes dancing across like a stealthy predator.

"Evacuate now. I intend to destroy your installation. I say again, evacuate now. I intend to destroy your installation. This is your only warning."

"All defensive fortifications are gone!" A lower charge called out. "Our great shields have been broken."

"Scramble the fighters and silence the beast's call." The Commandant roared, his elegant crimson and gold robes hanging just centimeters off the ground as he held himself aloft with a glimmering field of biotic capability. "We will burn this pest from the sky with cannon or tooth!"

Sar looked back at the feral maw, the impure in him would have retreated to fight another day, to harrow and make the enemy grow haggard with chasing ghosts. The Kett however, never surrendered, they never retreated. To do so would indicate inferiority, something that was sacrilege to even be thought of, bowing his head Sar admonished himself with vitriolic chants and returned to his duty. There were still kinetic barriers arrayed across the entirety of the base and he carefully kept them oscillating to allow the missile silos to fire uninterrupted.

"Fighters have left the atmosphere…" The charge's voice dropped off as the hundreds of fighters winked off in three large swaths. "All forces are expended. Missile silos are thirty percent expended."

"Enemy ship is firing!" Sar called out. He tried to manipulate the kinetic barriers but the lights to the command center flickered off and the screens went dark, it was as if a great hand had reached down and ripped the light away, instead dosing them in thick, flooded velvet.

Snapping to the last operational camera which maybe by chance or choice was still operational, Sar watched as a single blue beam of almost negligible size lanced down and scattered as it touched atmosphere, the clouds burned away as the atmosphere was ripped apart and vaporized. More beams followed suit in an unending crescendo, stripping the planet of its carefully staid protection, the Kett armies, hundreds of thousands arrayed in phalanxes around landing zones and manning posts, choked and died as they clamored for the now-sealed doors. Those who hadn't been outright vaporized or immolated now choked and screamed as radiation, heat, and the unbeatable need for oxygen made them wither and die.

The Commandant had closed his mouth and the burning fury in his eyes had long since subsided into emptiness. "Charge, maintain the atmospheric locks on the command center. We will not allow ourselves to be annihilated like our brethren outside."

Sar bit his bottom lip, his three digits forming into a crude fist. He was scared, had he been made ascendant only to be cast down by an unseen, unknowable foe? The pale skins had been thought to be weak and easily dealt with, but yet a single one of their ships had blown through their defenses as if they were nothing and immolated the surface of the world, wiping it of life. What had once been fields filled with life and the pinnacle of Kett machinery and knowledge, were instead turned into above-ground mass graves.

"Yes, Master," the Charge said. There was a hint of a hiss in his voice, had his impure side slowly begun to creep back forth, away from the smog and veneer of uplifting? "The enemy ship is firing again."

"What are they firing at?" The Sub-Commandant growled. "There is nothing left."

"They are targeting fault lines and the super volcanoes," Sar said with resigned sadness. Large swaths of continents were already winking away, with oceans boiling and stones running like water.

"They are sending a message," the Sub-Commandant muttered. "To all the other Kett."

"Silence yourself," his superior responded calmly.

Sar heard screams on the speakers as the targeting systems alerted the command center to the looming attack. "They are targeting the command center. Kinetic barriers are at maximum."

A single blue beam screamed down from the air, making contact with the mountain. For the briefest of seconds Sar felt unlimited heat suffuse his body as it bore down, permeating every molecule of his very being, even as he was molecularly disassembled, he felt the same warmth he had when he had been kidnapped off of Elaaden all those years ago.

 **UNKNOWN LOCATION**

The Intelligence cast great shadows on the moon as it passed along the path of the sun's rays; a sceptered star with a dagger shadow dancing across the pale face of the moon. Banking slowly, the Intelligence guided the ship away from the star and towards the forlorn and distant siren song of origin. Atlantis gleamed a brilliant star from where there had only been dark and silence.

Within the darkened halls of the Intelligence rows of pods sat, silent and blue they hummed softly with their charges deftly and daintily held in stasis. Years then centuries then eons had passed, the crystal clear pseudo-glass protecting them from the inescapable realities of entropy and death, awakening protocols surged forth, identifying the pods of the most needed crew and slowly stirring them from their slumber.

The lead one snapped open revealing Colonel Everett Young, his black uniform was coated in tiny ice crystals and he let out a hoarse, heavy cough. Still momentarily blinded, his cold palms clamored about in an attempt to find purchase and did so on the grated metal floor, coughing again, a thick strand of saliva and water came spilling out from his lungs and slipped through the holes of the grate, pooling below with an echoing drip.

"Colonel Young." Doctor Rush's familiar Scottish accent sliced through the grind of millennia-old machinery and the confused mutterings of awakened crew.

Young looked up through clouded vision and took the Doctor's out stretched hand, pulling himself up the Colonel steadied himself against the metal archway. "Rush…what happened?"

"It appears that we have been awakened from stasis." Rush surveyed the surroundings with a keen eye. "But not all of us. Seems to be sequential. You, myself, Lieutenant Johansen and Scott…" Rush cut himself off as he dashed out of the room, Rush cleared the hallway and made his way to the observation deck with Young a few steps behind him.

"Rush!" He barked, "Hold on."

The doors hissed open, revealing the towering panes of glass that gave an unfettered view of the star field they were now caught within. The stars were a different color; a hauntingly gorgeous spectre of blue, purple, and silver, each hung delicately and deliberately in the vast darkness of space, interspersed in vein-like formations were bands of gray and gold, flickering dimly. Rush stopped in his tracks and looked up.

"Rush," Young panted. "Where are we?"

Rush studied the field in front of him, attempting to find some sort of place mark or order amongst the disarray and chaotic star field.

"Rush!" Young barked.

"I have to idea where we are, Colonel." Rush looked back. "But we are alive."


End file.
